THERE IS NO CHARGE TO BE LISTED on this blog, however I do ask for a reciprocal link to Cool School Visits, at www.coolschoolvisits.com . (Check it out! I offer lots of free advice about doing school visits!) Sorry, except for a few close friends, I can only list you in your home state.

MY DEFINITION OF "TRADITIONALLY PUBLISHED"...If you're with a publisher you know I'll recognize, write to me and I'll add you. If you have any doubts, CLICK THIS LINK and scroll down to a list approved on SCBWI's "Published and Listed" (PAL) list. If you see your publisher on this list, write to me. If not, then you're with a publisher too obscure to be added. I don't want these author lists to become so lengthy that the site loses its original intent: to save educators time when "shopping" for an author.

It answers these questions and many more:• How do I get gigs, otherwise known as:• How do I find schools that host authors?• How do I set up an author visit?• How much should I charge?• Do I need a contract?• How do I arrange an advance book sale?• How do I hold a book signing?• How do I promote myself as a children’s book author who visits schools?• Do I need a brochure?• What should I put on my author website?• Who arranges the visit?• Are self-published authors hired to do author visits? (Good news! Yes!)• What kind of equipment and technology do I need?• What goes into an author presentation?• Do I need different programs for different ages?• How long should the programs be?• How do I know what to say?• How do I say it?• Do I need insurance? If so, where do I buy it?

I'm late posting this, since the visit happened last spring, but I just wanted to share a photo of myself posing with a dear little girl named Rochelle. She made the sweetest card for me. We nearly missed meeting each other at an evening event for Arlington Public Schools (Virginia), but luckily I'm a slow poke, so I was still there when she arrived at teensy bit late. I'm so glad we met. (And I'm so jealous of her purple boots!)

Awesome news! I KNOW A WEE PIGGY has made the
2013 Texas "2x2" Reading List. "The Texas 2X2 Reading List is a project
of the Children’s Round Table, a unit of the Texas Library Association,
and it is comprised of enriching titles recommended for children age 2
to grade 2. The Texas Library Association sponsors the Texas 2X2
Reading List solely to encourage free voluntary reading."

Kim: Congratulations, Terri, on illustrating another
spectacular picture book.Tell us
a bit about ONE DAY I WENT RAMBLING.Terri: Thank you
Kim.It’s a story written by
author Kelly Bennett about a highly imaginative boy, Zane, who “rambles” by
finding the extraordinary in everyday objects.His creative declarations and repurposed treasures cause him
to be the subject of ridicule among his neighborhood friends, but undaunted, he
perseveres. One by one, the kids come over to his way of seeing the world, and
together, they build something fantastic.

Kim: What did you find interesting or challenging
about illustrating this story?Terri:The author, Kelly Bennett, knows how to
write a story that suggests, then leaves a lot of room for an illustrator’s
interpretation.She purposefully
never states where all the rambling in ONE DAY I WENT RAMBLING takes place. It
stretches across several days, so I was able to set it in an inner-city neighborhood,
and let the gang venture out from backyards to front stoops, to the zoo, the
beach and to an empty lot in all their adventures.Kim:I
love that you chose to set this in the inner city.What contributed to this decision?Terri:Part of it was that I grew up in the
inner city, in a very diverse low-income neighborhood in Chicago.We didn’t have gaming systems to keep
us occupied (our games came in cardboard boxes), so we spent a lot of time
outdoors playing and pretending.I
also felt it was important to give a nod to all those kids who don’t live in
the idyllic countryside featured in so many picture books and to the creative
impulses that beckon them.Kim:At
first Zane’s friends don’t get him.They make fun of him and his treasures.Can you tell us a bit about how you decided to show this
visually?Terri:Sure.I immediately saw the conflict here as thinking outside the
box vs. thinking inside the box.To
show this, all of Zane’s wild imaginings are full-color, double spreads, full
bleed.When he brings his
treasures back to the group and is shunned, those are small boxed
illustrations, all the color has been removed, except for Zane and his pet
chameleon, who manage to hold on to a tint.Kim:Oh
yes, the chameleon!What a great
choice for a pet, and once again, it doesn’t appear in text, only in
pictures.Why a chameleon?

Terri:A lot my time in creating a picture
book is spent thinking, and what-if’ing.I asked, “What if Zane had a pet?”In researching other popular kids' gangs, Charles Schulz’s “Peanuts,” Scooby Doo, the black-and-white “Our Gang” movies...there was always a pet to
help express emotion, usually a dog.But Zane wouldn’t have a dog...he’d have a chameleon! In the
illustrations, the chameleon changes color to the child who expresses the most
imaginative thought...usually Zane, but later, the other kids start playing
along. Kim:Any
last thoughts on Rambling... and are you available for school visits?Terri:Yes, Kim, I’m available.I already kicked off the school tour
with a fun visit to an inner-city Chicago magnet school dedicated to arts
appreciation.Could there have
been a better fit?And my last
thought on Rambling.... the author and I ask the reader to play along on the
last page of the book, to use their imagination and guess at what is
shown.That’s how we ramble!

Sometimes schools give me lovely gifts, like this croco-delightful T-shirt, given to me by LaMoure Public School last fall. I've been redecorating a room, turning it into a creative space, so I repurposed the shirt into this SUPER simple pillow. Learn more about the visit and read instructions on Kim Norman's School Visit and Author Blog, HERE.

How adorable it this?! A school program (where, I don't know) where students performed my TEN ON THE SLED as a holiday song. Great job and so cute. I feel very proud -- like Cole Porter for kids!

Here is a list of publishers which appear in the SCBWI "Published and Listed" (PAL) list. IMPORTANT NOTE: PAL is different from simply being listed by SCBWIas a publisher that exists somewhere in the world. Those listed in PAL have been vetted by SCBWI as trustworthy, traditional publishers. Usually this means they pay advances and/or royalties. If you paid your publisher ANYTHING for your book to be published, it's unlikely your publisher will be listed in the Market Survey. This is no judgement on the quality of your book or the quality of your publisher. It's just a different sort of publishing model from traditional publishing. This list is many times longer than I ever expected it to be, so -- to keep the list to a manageable level -- I had to instate the "traditionally-published-only" parameter.

If you see your publisher on this list, feel free to write to me about adding your link to this site. I'm sorry to have to be so specific, but I've been spending a lot of time checking out obscure publishers and self-publishers.

If you are published by any of these houses, I'll be happy to add you to my listings. If you don't see it here, then submit your publisher to SCBWI for review. If they approve and add your publisher to their PAL list, (not just to their list of existing publishers) let me know, and I'll add it to my list, too.

Oh, and your book needs to be a physical, paper book that kids can hold in their hands and flip pages. Call me old fashioned, but that's my call for now.

Lots of snow around here in southeastern Virginia. Deeper than my 17-year-old son has seen in his whole life.

The best sledding hill in this flat little tidewater town is right behind our house (lucky us!) so I went out with the super-sized Scholastic paperback of Ten on the Sled and found a quartet of good-natured models to pose with the book. So thank you to Kathryn, Emily, Marnie and Ev for being such good sports. And thanks to their moms and dads, too!

ps: I think the super-sized Scholastic paperback (as well as regular-sized Scholastic paperback & an audio CD) are only available thru Scholastic Canada right now. I haven't seen it yet on the Scholastic US site -- but I could be wrong about that. The Sterling hardback is available... well... "everywhere books are sold" as the advertisements always say.

A few more than ten, in fact: a big fat box of my newest book, TEN ON THE SLED, scheduled for release from Sterling only 3 weeks from now, on October 5th. Very proud to have my name on this book, made so fun and colorful by Liza Woodruff's BRRRRilliant illustrations. (Get it? Brrrrrr-rilliant?... in the Arctic? Ar ar!)

Also got some great news about the book last week. Shouldn't really blab what, but it's good. It's really good.

My editor sent me sample versions of my new Crocodaddy Scholastic paperbacks. Very nice job. They look good. She also sent a handful of read-along CDs that Scholastic had created. They're adorable! The guy doing the reading (an actor named Marc Thompson) does a good job with pacing and rhythm. They added sound effects and music, which really do enhance the story. I am very proud to see my name on these new versions of my book.

What a fun author visit I had yesterday at Courtland Elementary School in Fredericksburg, Virginia! Thank you a thousand times over to Tammy Jones, who coordinated the visit. Also a big thank you to Mrs. Steele, the principal, who was a good sport about manning the cute new Crocodaddy puppet I bought in Florida last month. I was delighted to learn that the students knew every word of "The Storytime Boogie," so another thank you to Mrs. Lipscomb for taking the time to teach it to the students before I arrived. And of course, an extra big thank you to the PTO for making the event possible. God bless them. What would we do without our school PTOs?

And now, most charming of all, a collection of thank you notes from 2nd graders, some of whom got to hold up some of the colored papers I use when we do a read-aloud of I KNOW A WEE PIGGY WHO WALLOWED IN BROWN. (Still 2 years away from publication.)

I wish I'd had time to scan them all, but here is a sampling. I love how accurately some of them drew my "Crocodaddy-colored" green suit... all the way down to my green sandals! Thank YOU, Courtland students, for making me feel so welcome!

I love that this student used artistic license and added a green bow to my hair. Maybe I need to add that to my outfit!The above is a reference to my "Evil Inner Editors" who say ugly things inside my head when I'm struggling with a first draft. Kids really seem to get the concept, especially since I pair the sayings with funny, distorted images of myself saying things like "What makes you think YOU can write a book?"

About Me

My Website
I'm a children's book author whose books have been featured in The New York Times, Scholastic Book Fairs and Children's Book of the Month Club. I also employ my 20+ years of musical theater experience in my school visits. Turns out being a ham can actually be a useful skill!